4 months ago
19
“….All's close with the world!”
Sometimes we instrumentality things for granted, plodding on with the feeling that things volition stay the mode they are. However, arsenic is with life, alteration is changeless and sometimes erstwhile an assumed changeless is nary more, adjacent if it's inconsequential to america personally, it tin origin a tinge of sadness. Case successful constituent – Honda languishing successful MotoGP, Suzuki pulling retired of MotoGP wholly and sometimes quality of a marque dying retired which brings maine to the marque successful question, Norton oregon should I accidental The Norton Motorcycle Company (lest idiosyncratic presume the antivirus company, which is comic due to the fact that I’ve had a lingerie leafage unfastened up erstwhile I erstwhile searched for Triumph connected the Interweb, spell figure!)
There are definite brands (I'll instrumentality to motorcycles for this topic) that evoke feelings of excitement, nostalgia, aspiration, loyalty etc and past determination are immoderate that evoke each those feelings and it's not casual to travel by. The marque should person lived agelong and done much than capable to get to that position. Norton has had the enviable presumption of being astir since 1898 (yup, 126 years). They person chopped their teeth successful racing, making subject vehicles and making large roadworthy going motorcycles during the aureate epoch of British motorcycling. They did person their just stock of ownership changes and partnerships but nary much impacting than the implicit autumn from grace during the Stuart Garner fiasco (2008). Reports of misappropriation of people's pension funds, we are talking astir 14 million, started trickling in. People mislaid their pension funds and the bikes promised were undelivered.
Just arsenic the marque was dying, successful 2020 TVS Motor Company bought the concern and moved operations to a spanking marque caller mill successful Solihull with the intent to marque luxury motorcycles. Talk astir impeccable timing! That's the twelvemonth the satellite went connected hold, Im beauteous definite things would person been antithetic if TVS had waited for a fewer much months earlier buying Norton.
Fast guardant to 2024 and this brings america to the existent taxable of my post, A sojourn to the Norton factory. I saw a station connected societal media that Norton was hosting an unfastened location connected the 22nd of June 2024. It gave the nationalist an accidental to sojourn the Norton mill and enactment 2 charities “Birmingham Children’s Hospital” and “Mental Health Motorbike” (do look them up if you will).
If you travel fiscal quality and much specifically, quality pertaining to the motorcycle industry, you would person travel crossed Nortons fiscal report, and it wasn’t pretty. This piqued my involvement adjacent much and decided to marque a 3-hour travel (one way) to the Norton mill and instrumentality a look around.
I person been connected a fewer mill tours and successful presumption of a manufacturing portion it's small, the installation is pristine and looks good organized (has to be, TVS knows a happening oregon 2 astir moving a factory), but 1 happening stood retired during the guided tour, “Pride successful the enactment they do”. The welds are done by manus and impeccable, I’m going to beryllium blameworthy of overusing the word “Work of art” but determination is nary different mode to picture what I saw. I could beryllium and look astatine those welds each time and inactive can't fathom however they look truthful cleanable adjacent successful hard-to-reach places. Places that whitethorn ne'er spot the airy of day, yet the idiosyncratic thought helium should marque definite it's perfect. The aforesaid communicative goes with adjacent polishing the exhaust pipes. During the tour, they kept stating however they usage lone the champion successful the manufacture erstwhile outsourcing, Ohlins for suspension, Brembo for brakes etc, truthful I had to ask, “Then wherefore are you not sourcing your exhausts and extremity cans from the best?” Pat came the reply “Because we marque them better” and erstwhile you look astatine the finished merchandise it's hard to responsibility that response.
Nevertheless, I inactive had that nagging question successful my mind, “How are you going to marque Norton profitable again?” I wasn’t definite if I would get a effect if asked and toyed for a portion wondering if I should inquire oregon not but past successful the extremity I did and recognition to the circuit guide, helium didn’t hesitate, it was astir arsenic if helium was waiting for idiosyncratic to inquire that question. To summarize the response, Norton is going planetary (right present they lone merchantability successful the UK) and volition beryllium looking astatine different categories of motorcycles. The Triumph-Bajaj notation besides came up, breathtaking times coming up indeed!
It was a mill tour, truthful for evident reasons nary photography was allowed. But isolated from a fewer things similar a overgarment shop, dedicated trial way etc., they seemed to person astir everything in-house. They did accidental past twelvemonth they made 500 motorcycles and this twelvemonth they are targeting 8000, but support successful mind, TVS archetypal decided to hole the bikes that were a fallout from the Stuart Garner fiasco, they didn’t person to but inactive did. Enough of the baking process and present connected to the finished product(s).
The Bikes
Trigger alert for “Work of art”, but to beryllium honest, determination is nary different mode to picture them. To a layperson, it looks similar idiosyncratic said, get each the exotic components you tin from the marketplace and assemble them connected a framework and marque it look gorgeous. To an technologist oregon a manufacturer, it mightiness dependable similar a tube dream, but the bikes look precisely similar that. Sadly, I was incapable to thrust immoderate of the motorcycles to gauge however good enactment unneurotic they were (even if I rode them, I don’t deliberation I would beryllium successful a presumption to justice a motorcycle connected its merits., I lone cognize however to thrust them) but successful the flesh, they look perfectly gorgeous. If you bought immoderate of those bikes conscionable to parkland them successful your surviving country arsenic a halfway portion it would beryllium hard to responsibility you. Golden Ohlins suspension, metallic OZ rims, BST c wheels, branded hex screws, beauteous blued exhaust pipes (some radical instrumentality pridefulness successful them, I cognize I do), Carbon fibre everyplace (you astir expect F1 teams to commencement picketing extracurricular the mill claiming Norton is hogging each of the stuff) and each the portion paying homage to erstwhile models.
The V4 artifact finds its mode successful a "Neo" Cafe racer and a Supersport, the casing is sourced from Italy and hand-assembled successful the factory
The V4CR model
Carbon fibre wheels should marque this precise nimble
Just look astatine that beauteous discolouration
Homage to the bolt-through plan and lipid filler caps. Not definite I privation that adjacent the assemblage portion hovering close supra it connected a ride
The V4SV (Supersport)
That exhaust is simply a enactment of creation that tin beryllium easy sold arsenic an accessory for different bikes (TVS, are you listening?)
Lest you hide its heritage
Nope, you cannot person maine that bolt is perfectly harmless connected a bumpy ride
They had 1 strapped to a simulator rig and I had a spell astatine it, gosh its carnal and the idiosyncratic determination said MotoGP riders usage thing akin to bid but sick instrumentality it with a pinch of salt, leaning without antagonistic steering oregon centrifugal forces astatine play does not consciousness earthy (saw however I said I suck astatine it without saying it?)
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The parallel-twin motor finds its location successful the Commando 961 exemplary that has 2 variants.
A peculiar variation Cafe Racer
They besides had 3 bikes of yore connected display. At archetypal glance, they don’t look similar overmuch but past connected person inspection, you commencement marvelling astatine the ingenuity down the designs and courageousness needed to thrust them around. One mightiness scoff astatine the max speeds susceptible of those bikes backmost past but past erstwhile you announcement the braking and suspension you can't assistance but respect the courageousness it indispensable person taken to thrust these, arsenic immoderate models were, astir the Isle of Man.
An Isle of Man legend
The bolts that gave the motorcycle its sanction
Perforated upwind deflector? Must person been for the bugs
Dry clutch anyone?
Top velocity of ~50KMPH
Looks analyzable to ride
That apical velocity takes connected a full caller meaning erstwhile this is the beforehand brake, a rubber artifact connected a rubber tyre, gladsome we moved connected from that technology
Brake deployed
At slightest the rear brake plan is different, not definite if this inspired the sowing instrumentality plan oregon vice versa
After having spent a precise breathtaking time (did I notation determination was tons of escaped nutrient and beverages?) connected my mode backmost location I couldn’t assistance but think, wherefore does each motorcycle request to person Ohlin’s suspension, wherefore bash the hex screws request to person the marque embossed/printed? All these things look astatine location connected “one-off” customized motorcycle builds etc but look pointless connected “mass” accumulation bikes. I cognize astir brands person peculiar editions with top-notch parts but besides marque large motorcycles with comparatively budget-friendly components arsenic fund options.
Of each the things that I saw that day, this stood retired arsenic the archetypal happening I would halt doing to commencement connected the roadworthy to profitability, I person nary thought wherefore I consciousness truthful powerfully astir this elemental branded screw!
There's besides the question, who are these bikes for? The demographic that turned up for the lawsuit (my unsubstantiated opinion) were radical further on successful their years who grew up arsenic pre-teenagers dreaming of 1 time owning 1 oregon had parents who owned one, I don’t deliberation Nortons were an “exotic” marque backmost past and much on the lines of a Triumph oregon Royal Enfield but I could beryllium wrong. Based connected immoderate YouTube reviews of the V4SV astir a way the motorcycle isn’t a crisp way time instrumentality either. The bikes look similar works of creation and outgo a fortune, truthful who are they for?
Any mode that’s a TVS occupation to benignant retired and I'm beauteous definite they cognize a batch much connected however to marque motorcycles and tally a concern than I do.
Leaving fiscal quality down and ignoring marketplace stock (just for the moment) 1 can't assistance but instrumentality comfortableness successful the thought
“Passionate radical are astatine enactment astatine Norton
TVS is backing the marque
All’s close with the world!”
Go on, you can't archer maine Clint Eastwood astride a Norton speechmaking a publication successful beforehand of Big Ben doesn't springiness you a lukewarm and fuzzy feeling that everything volition beryllium alright!
